A Study Of A Ph Sensitive Aggregation Induced Emission Probe

pH plays an important role in cell proliferation,endocytosis,enzymatic activity,and ion transport.pH is also different in different organelles.Many diseases such as cancer and stroke are related to abnormalities in intracellular pH.Therefore,accurate measurement of intracellular pH will play a key role in the study of cellular functions and pathological processes.Fluorescent probes have been widely studied and applied by scientists because of their many advantages such as real-time imaging,high sensitivity,fast response,low cost,and good biocompatibility.A good intracellular pH sensor should also have characteristics such as low cytotoxicity,wide pH response range,and strong fluorescence response.Conventional organic dyes generally produce bright emission in dilute solutions,but they are attenuated or quenched in the aggregated or concentrated solution.This phenomenon significantly limits the degree of labeling of bioanalytes by the dye molecules,whereas luminescent materials with aggregation-induced emission properties allow bioassays to be used at any concentration,with higher sensitivity and higher accuracy.We have synthesized a pH-sensitive probe with aggregation-induced emission properties that can be used for intracellular pH measurement.The fluorescence intensity of this probe increases with decreasing pH,and its fluorescence sensitivity range can cover the intracellular pH range.The probe was detected by dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy and it was found that the particle size of the probe increased with decreasing pH.The cell co-localization experiments,real-time monitoring of pH changes,and cytotoxicity experiments were performed to confirm that it has many advantages such as real-time imaging,high sensitivity,dynamic monitoring,and low cytotoxicity,and can be used to measure intracellular pH.